Shared hosting and reseller hosting are 2 web hosting solutions with distinct purposes and target audiences. Shared hosting offers basic and affordable hosting to individuals or businesses looking to get a site online. Reseller hosting targets users who want to resell hosting services to other clients by also offering tools for branding and client management.
Shared hosting is cheaper thanks to its basic shared infrastructure, whilst reseller hosting incurs higher fees for added features like branding management or billing tools. Reseller hosting delivers better performance as it tends to offer more resources per plan, while shared hosting is more user-friendly for beginners. Reseller hosting offers superior flexibility for creating and managing custom plans, but shared hosting requires less hands-on maintenance. Reseller hosting’s security depends on the type of reseller plan (shared, VPS or dedicated reseller). It provides better scalability by allowing resource and account expansion to support business growth.
Cost, user-friendliness and flexibility are the 3 areas where the differences between shared and reseller hosting are most obvious. These distinctions help define which hosting type best fits your website or web application’s requirements. Choose shared hosting if you need an affordable, simple solution for hosting a single or small number of websites. Choose reseller hosting if you want to manage multiple websites, sell hosting services to clients, or require tools for branding and client account management.
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting is a popular type of web hosting wherein multiple websites share a single server. It works by dividing hosting server resources like CPU, RAM, and storage among clients and providing a pre-configured environment wherein the host takes care of server management. The core advantages of shared hosting are affordability, simplicity and beginner-friendliness.
What is Reseller Hosting?
Reseller hosting is a type of web hosting that allows a business to purchase web hosting resources in bulk and resell them to clients. It works by providing resellers the tools for account management, billing, and white-label branding whilst continuing to take care of server maintenance. The core advantage of reseller hosting includes enabling businesses to earn profit from selling web hosting without owning or operating expensive servers. Reseller hosting is also used to manage multiple accounts.
What is the Difference Between Shared and Reseller Hosting?
The difference between shared hosting and reseller hosting refers to the variations in these types of hosting caused by their different setup and focuses.
Shared hosting emphasizes affordability while reseller hosting’s higher expense is due to its provision of resources for multiple plans. Reseller hosting performance is generally higher, though this depends on the server infrastructure of the plans it is reselling. Shared hosting is more user-friendly. Reseller hosting is much more flexible since users have control over how resources are distributed across accounts. Shared hosting requires much less maintenance. Certain types of reseller hosting offers higher security than shared hosting. Reseller hosting also offers significantly higher scalability.
Cost
The cost of shared hosting is significantly lower than reseller hosting because it generally caters for a single user, uses a simpler structure and shares its resources. Shared hosting costs around RM9 – RM68/month, while reseller hosting prices fall between RM14 – RM450/month. Reseller hosting involves higher starting costs because it includes resource allocations that cater for multiple accounts. Tools like white-label branding and client management software also increase cost.
Performance
Shared hosting provides lower performance because it shares server resources. This means server slowdowns and downtime occur when other sites on the shared server consume excessive resources. Reseller hosting performance is generally higher, though this relies heavily on the infrastructure of the particular reseller plan you have chosen. Reseller hosting using VPS (virtual private servers) or dedicated server infrastructure provide higher performance than reseller shared hosting.
User-Friendliness
Shared hosting is much more user-friendly because it targets beginners looking for the simplest solution. It therefore provides simple control panels like cPanel and pre-configured environments. In contrast, reseller hosting targets users who are already familiar with web hosting and managing multiple accounts. Reseller hosting thus requires technical expertise and involves a steeper learning curve for tools for account and client management tools.
Flexibility
Shared hosting offers far less flexibility than reseller hosting. Reseller hosting provides a wide variety of tools to create customized plans and branding options. It supports the configuration of individual client accounts with specific resource allocations. Shared hosting lacks these options and remains restricted to predefined plans and pre-configured environments that are managed entirely by the hosting provider.
Maintenance
Shared hosting requires much less maintenance than reseller hosting. Maintenance like updates and security are handled by the host provider in shared hosting. Reseller hosting also benefits from provider-managed servers, but the reseller must handle client-specific technical issues and support. This increases the workload for resellers since they need to manage multiple accounts.
Security
Shared hosting is less secure than reseller hosting in certain cases, but the level of security in reseller hosting depends on the type of plan. Reseller shared hosting inherits the same risks as standard shared hosting since accounts on a shared server are vulnerable to cross-account breaches. However, reseller hosting with VPS or dedicated infrastructure offers superior security by isolating client environments.
Scalability
Reseller hosting offers greater scalability than shared hosting due to its ability to support growth through additional accounts and resources. Shared hosting is limited by predefined resource caps and requires users to upgrade to higher-tier plans or more advanced hosting types as their needs grow. In contrast, reseller hosting accommodates expansion by allowing users to add accounts and customize plans to meet evolving client or business requirements.
How Do I Choose Between Shared and Reseller Hosting?
Choose between shared and reseller hosting by evaluating your business objectives, budget and number of websites to support. Choose shared hosting if you’re looking to get a small website or web application online, and if you prioritize affordability and simplicity. Choose reseller hosting if you want to sell hosting services under your own branding, or if you wish to manage multiple websites as an agent.
Whichever your choice, ensure you opt for a good hosting provider that provides reliable plans of that web hosting type.
What Makes a Good Shared Hosting Provider?
A good shared hosting provider offers sufficient storage, beginner-friendly control panels like cPanel and fair renewal fees. Get started by checking our roundup of the best shared hosting providers that meet this criteria.
What Makes a Good Reseller Hosting Provider?
A good reseller hosting provider offers white-label branding, client management tools, billing features, strong uptime, and responsive customer support. Get started by checking our roundup of the best reseller hosting providers that meet this criteria.
Is It Feasible to Use Reseller Hosting as Shared Hosting?
Yes, using reseller hosting as shared hosting is feasible but unnecessary unless you need multiple accounts. Reseller hosting costs more and involves added responsibilities, making shared hosting a better option for single-site needs.
Shared Hosting vs Reseller Hosting: Difference Summary
Cost, user-friendliness and flexibility are the main differences between shared and reseller hosting. The variations between shared and reseller hosting are summarised in the table below.
| Aspect | Shared Hosting | Reseller Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lower due to shared resources. | Higher to accommodate higher resources and additional tools |
| Performance | Lower due to shared server resources. | Higher, depending on plan infrastructure (shared, VPS, or dedicated). |
| User-Friendliness | Easier to use, targets beginners. | Moderate, requires more technical expertise |
| Flexibility | Limited, follows predefined plans. | High, supports custom plans and branding for clients. |
| Maintenance | Fully managed by the provider. | Resellers manage client-specific issues in addition to server management. |
| Security | Vulnerable to cross-account breaches in shared environments. | Better with reseller VPS or dedicated plans |
| Scalability | Limited, requires upgrading to advanced hosting types. | High, supports resource expansion and additional client accounts. |
| Use Case | Single or a few small websites for individuals or small businesses. | Hosting multiple websites or managing clients for agencies and businesses. |
Shared hosting is cheaper due to its smaller scope and focus on simple, user-friendly hosting solutions. Reseller hosting provides greater flexibility for custom plans and client management. Shared hosting suits straightforward, low-cost hosting needs like blogs and portfolios, while reseller hosting is ideal for businesses looking to sell hosting services under their own brand.